Sports
USWNT’s Naomi Girma completes Chelsea move for record transfer fee in women’s soccer
USWNT defender Naomi Girma has completed her move from the San Diego Wave to Chelsea and become the most expensive transfer in women’s soccer history.
The Athletic reported earlier this week that Chelsea had agreed terms with the Wave for the transfer of Girma for a record $1.1million fee, according to sources briefed on the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The 24-year-old had been under contract at San Diego until 2026, which is why the deal required a fee, and this has made her the first $1million-plus women’s soccer player.
The deal surpasses the previous record sum of €735,000 paid by Bay FC for Zambia forward Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF in February 2024.
Girma attracted considerable interest from elsewhere in Europe, with eight-time European champions Lyon tabling a $1m offer of their own.
GO DEEPER
The first $1m female footballer will be a defender and that feels just right
“I’m so happy and really excited to be here,” Girma told the Chelsea website. “It doesn’t feel real.
“There are a lot of things about Chelsea that made me want to come here — the culture, the winning mentality, staff and players. It’s a top environment to learn and grow in.
“Right now, that’s what I’m looking to do. It was an easy choice for me.”
Girma was presented on the Stamford Bridge pitch ahead of their Women’s Super League game against Arsenal (Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
The Wave were prepared to lose the center-back for the 2025 season, having signed 17-year-old Trinity Armstrong out of the University of North Carolina to a three-year deal last week.
Girma joined the Wave as the first pick in the 2022 NWSL draft after playing for Stanford at the collegiate level. She was named NSWL defender of the year in 2022 and 2023 and was part of the Wave side that won the NWSL Shield in 2023.
Chelsea have now added further depth at centre-back after losing Canada international Kadeisha Buchanan to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in December.
Sonia Bompastor’s side lead the Women’s Super League and have progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions League — the one competition they are yet to win.
Analysis from The Athletic’s senior soccer writer Jeff Rueter
When the U.S. won 2024 Olympic gold, Girma’s praises were sung as loudly as those of the side’s attacking trio of Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson.
Even with the advancement of modern metrics, it is difficult to quantify the extent of a defender’s value in numbers. Instead, a combination of data, the eye test and expert endorsement helped drive one point home: Girma had quickly entered her position’s highest echelon.
“She’s the best defender I’ve ever seen,” U.S. head coach Emma Hayes, formerly manager of Chelsea, said after a shutout Olympic semifinal victory against Germany. “Ever. She’s got everything: poise, composure, she defends, she anticipates, she leads.”
In that Germany win, Girma had a higher number of completed passes than any other player even attempted. She locked down Germany’s attackers whenever they neared the final third. She carried the ball for 687 meters, 24 per cent of the USWNT’s combined distance, giving crucial time for her teammates to make off-ball movements.
For now, Girma is in a class of her own. She is, by many people’s estimation, the best player at her position in the women’s game worldwide. That status also vaults her into the broader conversation about the sport’s greatest players. And on that front, she’s heading towards being among the best in USWNT history.
GO DEEPER
Who is Naomi Girma? USWNT defender to break $1m transfer mark with Chelsea move
How does Girma’s fee compare to others in women’s soccer?
Girma’s fee marks the fourth time the women’s transfer record has been broken in less than three years. It was broken twice in the space of a month in 2024.
It also marks the third time Chelsea have signed a player for women’s transfer record fee, following the additions of Mayra Ramirez from Levante in 2022 and Pernille Harder from Wolfsburg in 2020.
GO DEEPER
The women’s world transfer record has been broken three times in 18 months. Is that good or bad?
Analysis from The Athletic’s tactics writer Michael Cox
Ordinarily, it takes a few games to realise the full ability of a centre-back, but something about Girma is different. An excellent reader of the game, good at covering space in behind and capable of battling physically without leaning on physicality, she seems the complete defender.
Perhaps the only thing she lacks is true aerial dominance. At 1.68m (5ft 6in) tall, she’s not a towering presence and she won only 51.5 per cent of her aerial battles in the NWSL last season, which isn’t a particularly reassuring figure for a centre-back. But the fact she can dominate her own penalty box despite that relative lack of aerial power almost adds to her aura.
It also says something about the development of the women’s game overall. Whereas the men’s game has steadily weaned itself off a diet of long balls and crosses, the women’s game has evolved in a different way, more based around attacking on the ground through technique or speed. There are only around 75 per cent as many aerial battles in the Women’s Super League compared to the Premier League, for example.
Being the most valuable footballer in the world doesn’t translate to being the outright best footballer, of course. Still, centre-backs feel unusually prominent. Even before Girma’s move, 10 of the 50 most expensive transfers in the women’s game involved defenders, compared to just six of the top 50 most expensive transfers in the men’s game.
For once, the next generation of footballers might just grow up wanting to play in defence.
(Top photo: Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images)
Sports
Pirates star pitcher makes unfortunate history after being taken out in middle of perfect game bid
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history on Wednesday night — he got it, but it was not what he originally envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was taken out in the middle of his perfect game bid after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — the 24-year-old Jones hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025. He was yanked with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero run support, so when the Atlanta Braves tacked on three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the wrong chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to pitch at least six perfect innings and not record a win.
“It does suck. Something’s cool coming on, but I’m on what? My eighth start off of surgery? I completely understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) makes his way to the field to warm up before pitching against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
JUSTIN VERLANDER ANNOUNCES HE WILL RETIRE AFTER THIS SEASON: ‘I’VE REALIZED THAT TIME HAS COME’
Jones said he didn’t entertain attempting to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “Not really ever expecting to go nine right now, so that was never in my head.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field off a slider from Dennis Santana. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was taken out of the game with a perfect bid through six innings — the Miami Marlins took Eury Perez out after seven innings in which he had 92 pitches. Perez, too, is in the midst of returning from injury and has surprisingly found himself right in the postseason mix.
He was pulled for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics in the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during a MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, which is held by the Marlins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
WASHINGTON — The Dodgers are scheduled to visit the White House on July 23 to celebrate their latest World Series title.
“President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Times.
The date falls on a scheduled off day in the middle of a nine-game East Coast road trip for the Dodgers. The team will play three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies July 20-22 before ending the trip with a three-game series against the New York Mets July 24 to 26.
The visit continues a tradition from the Dodgers’ two previous World Series championships. They were hosted by President Biden in 2021 and President Trump in April 2025.
After the Dodgers claimed their second consecutive World Series title with a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, a visit to the White House was planned, but it wasn’t until Thursday that a date was officially booked and confirmed.
Questions swirled around whether players would decline the visit this year after it did not happen during a scheduled visit to Washington in April.
Kiké Hernández said in 2018 he was unsure he would have gone had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Mookie Betts said he was undecided and needed to talk it over with his family when last year’s visit was announced. After winning his first World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term.
Both players, along with every returning member of the 2024 team who was with the team during its road trip, participated in the visit. The only notable absence was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles to nurse an ankle injury.
Manager Dave Roberts, who indicated in comments to The Times in 2019 he might not go to the White House if Trump was president, also participated in last year’s ceremony.
Asked at the Dodgers’ fan festival in January about the possibility of returning to the White House, Roberts told The Times’ Bill Shaikin: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.”
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country,” Roberts said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. … For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
Clayton Kershaw, who retired after last season but was on Team USA for this year’s World Baseball Classic, told The Times in the spring that he was aware Dodgers fans are split over whether the team should visit the White House again this year, but he said he is looking forward to it.
“I went when President Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
Times deputy sports editor Ed Guzman contributed to this report.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
All eyes were on Caitlin Clark on Wednesday night as she made her anticipated return from injury in a road matchup in Los Angeles.
But instead of a triumphant comeback, the Fever spent the entire night chasing the Sparks as Clark’s rough return fueled a 106-92 rout.
The superstar never found a groove, looking completely out of sync in her return from a back injury.
STEPHANIE WHITE GIVES CAITLIN CLARK STATUS UPDATE AHEAD OF FEVER-SPARKS, BUT HER NEXT MOVE RAISES QUESTIONS
Caitlin Clark huddles with teammates as the Indiana Fever battle the Sparks. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
Much of that disjointed performance falls squarely on head coach Stephanie White, who kept Clark on a ridiculously tight leash by limiting her to just 16 minutes. The stop-and-go approach could have sabotaged any chance for the phenom to establish a rhythm.
Clark finished with just 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her minus-16 plus-minus told the story.
The Los Angeles Sparks were severely shorthanded, taking the floor without stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.
MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY
Yet while a depleted Sparks roster played to win, Indiana spent the night over-managing its biggest asset.
With Clark on a minutes restriction and Aliyah Boston out of the lineup, Kelsey Mitchell was forced to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Mitchell did her part, pouring in 29 points while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Caitlin Clark orchestrates the Fever offense as Indiana battles the Los Angeles Sparks in primetime action. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
But one hot hand couldn’t stop an efficient LA squad.
The Sparks shot 45% from three-point range, going 9-of-20 from deep to cruise to the 106-92 victory.
White’s next move is to sit Clark against the Mercury on Thursday while Boston returns.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
After Wednesday’s loss to a shorthanded Sparks team, it’s fair to question whether Indiana’s cautious approach is working. The Fever dropped to 12-9.
Caitlin Clark and Dearica Hamby face off as Fever and Sparks battle at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images) ((Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images))
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
-
Indiana43 seconds agoAttempted murder suspect arrested in Indianapolis for Bloomington shooting
-
Iowa6 minutes agoIowa WWII veteran approaching 100th birthday honored in Cedar Rapids
-
Kentucky11 minutes agoExantus may be subject to involuntary hospitalization due to Kentucky law
-
Louisiana21 minutes agoParasitic stomach illness that can cause explosive diarrhea rises in Louisiana
-
Maine28 minutes agoIs prison in play for Graham Platner?
-
Maryland31 minutes agoOffice building in Glen Burnie evacuated after shift in parking garage floor
-
Michigan36 minutes agoMenominee, Michigan man arrested on sexual assault charges involving a minor
-
Massachusetts43 minutes agoHealey administration vows to appeal as Trump rejects Massachusetts blizzard aid request – The Boston Globe
